Over half of consumers due to buy Christmas gifts via mobile

December 5, 2012

Here comes a Merry Mobile Christmas! Over half of consumers due to buy Christmas gifts via mobile, with 73% mobile shopping for the first timeBuzzCity Mobile Ad Network latest research predicts 2012 will be biggest year yet for Christmas shopping via mobile

London, 4 December 2012: BuzzCity, the global mobile media company, has released interim findings from an in-depth survey today which reveals that consumers are finally convinced by mobile commerce and are keen to use it for their seasonal purchases, with 55% of people across the globe likely or certain to buy gifts via their mobile device. In the UK alone, despite never buying gifts via mobile before 47% of consumers are planning to purchase Christmas gifts via a mobile device for the first time this year.

The poll also highlighted that around a third of consumers (31%) claimed that they are planning to spend over half of their overall festive budget on purchases via mobile, avoiding the traditional Christmas crush in favour of shopping from the comfort of their home or while they are on the move.

Dr KF Lai, CEO of BuzzCity commented, “These findings have given us the clearest indication to date that consumer trust in mobile shopping is higher than it’s ever been. The age of mobile commerce is finally here – and it has been a long time coming! It seems that the industry and retailers have done a good job of winning consumer confidence and trust to overcome the barriers that existed previously. This creates a very significant opportunity for advertisers and marketers wishing to reach their audiences via mobile at this time of year.”

Convenience appeared to be a key benefit for those planning to shop on their mobile devices with almost three quarters of those surveyed (63%) saying they would be more likely to buy via their mobile if they left shopping till the last minute and 60 % opting to use their mobile to shop even if they left it until the day itself!

Interestingly, according to BuzzCity’s research, most UK mobile owners are savvy when it comes to shopping. Around a third (32%) of respondents would use their mobile to check prices on search engines or via social media (19%). Other price-checking channels cited included price comparison sites (23%), friends’ recommendations (13%) and advertisements (13%).

UK shoppers ranked clothing as the top purchase to make on mobiles (27%), followed by electronics/gadgets (22%) and entertainment (20%).

However, although there has been a shift to mobile commerce adoption, there is still a minority who remain unconvinced. 16% of UK respondents were not likely to buy gifts via mobile, giving reasons such as not having a credit or debit card, having concerns over secure payments and their favoured websites not yet being properly optimised for mobile shopping.

In the UK alone, as of November 2012, smartphones were owned by the majority (83%) of mobile users with just over a quarter (28%) of consumers owning a Samsung, 20 per cent owning an Apple and over a third (38%) owning a Nokia or Blackberry, demonstrating impressive growth in the smartphone market.

The survey’s interim findings will be followed by further global insights in January 2013.

The BuzzCity network serves more than 0.5 billion ads to more than 6.5m UK mobile surfers each month. For more information on the UK consumer visit BuzzCity’s online campaign planner.

About

The MMA’s mission is to enable marketers to drive innovation and enduring business value in an increasingly dynamic and mobile connected world. Comprised of over 800-member companies globally and 14 regional offices, the MMA is the only marketing trade association that brings together the full ecosystem of marketers, tech providers and sellers working collaboratively to architect the future of marketing, while relentlessly delivering growth today. Anchoring the MMA’s mission are four core pillars; to cultivate inspiration by driving innovation for the Chief Marketing Officer; to build the mobile marketing capabilities for marketing organizations through fostering know-how and confidence; to champion the effectiveness and impact of mobile through research providing tangible ROI; and to advocate for mobile marketers.